A/N: A Fox among the Hounds is becoming relatively popular out there in . Also it seems that most of my fans are from the good ol' US of A, so I salute to you American fans. I'm keeping this short and sweet, so on with the fic!
A Fox among the Hounds
Hidden in the Mist
Kurenai Yuuhi had a reputation for remaining calm under pressure; even when she had fought against the infamous Zabuza Momochi, she managed to keep her cool. However, the way Kakashi was looking at her right now was even more bone-chilling than worst atrocities of the last Shinobi War. And when Kurenai was nervous, her articulacy tended to revert to gibberish.
Seeing the Genjutsu Mistress' uneasiness, Kakashi realized that he might have been a bit too hard on her. Sighing, he gently told her to repeat her story in a slower pace.
Nodding, Kurenai took a deep, calming breath and described the chain of events at the moment they arrived in Wave. She explained of the sudden ambush by the Demon Brothers and later, Zabuza Momochi, and how they managed to escape in relatively one piece.
-Flashback-
Team 8 had finally arrived in Wave territory. It had been an uneventful trip so far with Sasuke not speaking to anyone, and Kiba and Sakura leaving him out of their conversations. Kurenai herself had occasionally spoken with Tazuna, the bridge-builder and the rower. Kiba and Sakura were awestruck as they passed by the near-complete bridge that spanned the strait separating Wave from the rest of the mainland.
As soon as they hit shore, Akamaru yipped and bounded in and around the many puddles that dotted the landscape. His partner decided to join in the fun as well until Sakura pulled him back and chided him for being too loud.
Just then, two pairs of clawed chains suddenly launched themselves towards Kurenai, binding her. Sakura gasped in horror and Sasuke's eyes widened with shock. Two men dressed in cloaks appeared from the puddles. Their headbands had four curved lines etched into them, signifying that they were from Kiri- The Hidden Mist Village. Kiba quickly drew the Shiroga and got into position along with Akamaru. Behind Sakura, Tazuna froze- only he knew the reason why they were being attacked.
"Kurenai-sensei!" yelled Sakura and Kiba. Akamaru howled in panic.
Suddenly the, the chained-up Kurenai disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Sasuke smirked in recognition. The Kawarimi no Jutsu. Typical of a genjutsu specialist to use such a technique. The opponents would be caught of guard, and the user could use an offensive jutsu to finish them off.
"Hand us the geezer!" demanded the taller of the two Kiri-nin.
"Who are you to make such demands?" asked Sakura as she covered the frightened bridge-builder.
"I'm Meizu," said the first man.
"And I'm Gouzu," said the other. "Together, we're the Demon Brothers- feared Chuunin of the Mist!"
"Careful!" warned Kurenai, reappearing on a nearby tree branch. "These are C-class missing-nin you're dealing with. They're relatively dangerous."
A claw launched itself towards Sakura. Kiba launched himself infront of the weapon and managed to block it, but not before being nicked by its tip. Sasuke had engaged into battle with Gouzu while Akamaru had Meizu in a bite-grip.
"Genjutsu: Kiri no Sakura (trans: Cherry Blossom Mist)!" yelled Sakura. A strange pink mist overwhelmed the Kiri-nin, disorienting them. Kiba, sensing the advantage, tossed Akamaru a soldier pill. The dog let go of the Chuunin in his grip and took the pill. Suddenly, there was the all-too-familiar shout of "Juujin Bunshin no Jutsu!", followed by "Shikyayu no Jutsu!", and then "Juujin Bunshin Rendan!"
"I." The first Kiba gave Meizu a donkey kick.
"Nu." The other Kiba drove Gouzu into the ground.
"Zu." The second Kiba landed a sweep kick on Gouzu.
"Ka." The real Kiba gave Meizu a devastating slash with the Shiroga.
The battle ended with the Demon Brothers thrashed within an inch of their lives by Sasuke and Kiba. Kurenai had tied them to a tree for the hunter-nins to retrieve, and led Tazuna and Team 8 to a safe distance away. As they walked on, Sakura noticed Kiba's hand suddenly turn purple and brought this to the attention of their Jonin-sensei. Kurenai pulled a kunai and sliced a cut on the Inuzuka's arm. The poisoned blood dripped out of the wound and once the venom had been completely leached out, the cut was promptly cleaned and bandaged.
"What was that all about?" Kurenai asked, leveling a scathing glare at the client. "You said you needed protection, but you never told me that you needed protection from missing-nin. This changes this mission from a C-rank to a possible B or even A-rank."
Tazuna gulped, knowing that he had been found out. "Alright, alright, here's the truth. Wave has been taken over by Gato of Gato Shipping Companies. He's been monopolizing our trade routes for years. The bridge I'm building aims to cut the monopoly and bring free trade back to our country, but it seems that Gato hasn't taken this too well. Apparently, he's hired a bunch of thugs to take me out, so that the bridge will never be complete."
"Why'd ya have to hire us?" asked Kiba. "Why not hire ninja from your own Hidden Village?"
"That's the problem," said the old man. "Wave Country's economy has been severely crippled by Gato's monopoly. Even the Daimyo has to scrape the bottom of the barrel, and we don't have a Ninja Academy; so we hired you guys. However, we only had enough money for a C-rank mission, so that's why I had to lie."
"I see," Kurenai replied, nodding. "Team, were pulling out."
Team 8 looked at their sensei incredulously. "What?" Sasuke asked.
"I said we're pulling out," Kurenai repeated. "This mission has already gotten out of hand, and now, Kiba is injured. There are times when retreat is the only option we have."
"No!" Kiba cried as he got up. "We can't go back to Konoha without finishing our mission. I'm an Inuzuka and Inuzukas never give up. It'll take a lot more than a little poison to make me pull my tail between my legs."
"Inuzuka's right," said a calm voice.
Everyone turned to see Sasuke speak. Sasuke agreeing with Kiba? That was definitely a sign of the Apocalypse.
"If we just leave our client out here, the mission would be considered a failure, we'd become the laughingstock of the entire village. I for one, will not tolerate a failed mission in my records, and besides, what kind of ninja would we be if we can't even complete a simple escort mission?"
"How about you Sakura?" asked the red-eyed Jonin.
"I agree with Kiba and Sasuke," Sakura replied. "If we hurry, we can still make it to Nami and plan our strategies."
"Well this is your lucky day," said Kurenai, returning her attention to Tazuna. "My charges believe that it would be best to take you to your village first and protect you until we can request Konoha for some back-up."
Team 8 hurried along as they kept a wary eye among their surroundings. Just then, there was a rustle among the bushes. Akamaru jumped in only to flush out a white snow rabbit. Kurenai's eyes narrowed at this. White… …snow rabbit? During August? Something was amiss. Very amiss.
"EVERYONE DUCK!" she commanded.
Team 8 did as they were told as a zanbato sailed past over their heads and embedded itself into a nearby tree. Sasuke had yanked down Tazuna just in time before the huge sword could decapitate the old man. Out of nowhere, a masked man appeared and landed on top of the sword.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Devil Eyes Kurenai," sneered the newcomer.
Kurenai glared at the man with venomous eyes. "So you're behind this, Demon of the Mist!"
Kiba drew the Shiroga from its sheath. Sasuke and Sakura covered Tazuna once more.
Kurenai, noticing the actions of her team, told them to take the old man and run.
"Get out of here!" she commanded. "This man is different from the other two you fought. He's the feared Kiri Jonin, Zabuza Momochi!"
"But Sensei," Sakura protested, "We can't leave you behind. Naruto once told me that Kakashi-sensei told him that those who broke the rules were scum, but those who abandoned their teammates were even worse than scum."
"Sakura's right!" said Kiba. "You're part of our pack Kurenai-sensei, and as an Inuzuka clan member, it's in our code of honor to never leave a pack member behind."
Kurenai flinched. Damn Kakashi for his tirades on teamwork and the Inuzuka's pack mentality. Reluctantly, she allowed her team to stay.
Zabuza smirked. "Even if you had those Genin brats with you, you wouldn't win. You could have simply handed the geezer over, and I would have let you leave with your lives. Pity, I'd really hate to cut up a pretty face like yours."
"Don't hold yourself in such high regard Momochi," Kurenai scoffed. "Even if we die, we'll never hand the bridge-builder to you. Genjutsu: Flower Petal Escape!"
Team 8 watched in awe as Kurenai vanished in a flash of flower petals and reappeared behind Zabuza, pressing a kunai onto his neck.
"Nice move," smirked the Mist-nin. "But how do you like this?" Zabuza suddenly disintegrated into a puddle of water.
"Mizu Bunshin!" gasped Kurenai. "Then where…?"
"Over here," replied the real Zabuza, yanking the zanbato right under Kurenai's feet throwing her into a nearby pond.
"Kurenai-sensei!" yelled Kiba and Sakura, genuinely concerned for their mentor. Sasuke could not help but watch on in fear and awe as the Mizu Bunshin reformed to hold Kurenai in what seemed like an orb of water. "Suiro no Jutsu," chuckled the Kiri-nin. "You like?" He turned to the Genin. "Okay you brats, hand over the geezer within five minutes, or the pretty lady gets it, got it?"
"Don't worry kids," said Kurenai. "I'll be alright." However, as soon as the Genjutsu Mistress uttered those words, she gave a gasp of pain as her chakra was slowly siphoned out.
"Heheh…" chuckled the Demon of the Mist. "Did I forget to mention that my version of the Suiro no Jutsu has the ability to drain its victims' chakra?"
"What to we do now?" asked Sakura. "If we hand over Tazuna, we fail the mission, but if we don't hand him over, we lose Kurenai-sensei."
"I have an idea," said Sasuke. "But you'll have to do everything I say." He gathered the group into a huddle and whispered something. Comprehending, Kiba and Sakura nodded and went to their positions where Kiba took the front lines with Sasuke, while Sakura defended Tazuna.
"I have a proposition for you," said the Uchiha heir. "Eat this!" he yelled, hurling a Fuuma Shuriken towards the Kiri-nin.
Zabuza dodged the spinning projectile. "Ha! You missed!" he sneered, before getting hit by a second Fuuma Shuriken. "What the-?"
The first Fuuma transformed into Akamaru in clone form who had simultaneously hurled the second Fuuma Shuuriken and barreled into the Mizu Bunshin, dispelling it and releasing Kurenai.
"It's over!" said Kurenai, making several hand signs. "Magen: Jubaku Satsu!" Vines suddenly sprang out of nowhere, binding Zabuza to the tree. Kurenai made another bunch of hand signs and made the call, "Magen: Yami no Guntai (trans: Demonic Illusion: Army of Darkness)!" An army of grotesque creatures sprang out of the ground, clawing at the Zabuza. As the feared Demon of the Mist was reduced to a hysterical mass, Kurenai loomed above him, kunai raised, to put the man out of his misery, when several senbon needles suddenly flew out of nowhere and struck Zabuza's neck, ultimately killing him.
Kurenai dispelled her genjutsu to look for the needle thrower. Akamaru sniffed the air and finally stopped at a particular direction, baying all the while. "Show yourself!" called Kurenai.
A masked figure in green and yellow robes appeared from the treetops. The Kiri symbol was etched on his mask. Kiba recognized the form immediately. "A hunter-nin?" he gasped.
"Sorry about that," said the hunter-nin. "I've been trailing Momochi for weeks. I was told to kill on sight." Leaping off his perch, he hefted Zabuza's corpse over his shoulder, before disappearing into the forest.
"What was that all about?" asked Sakura.
"That was a hunter-nin," explained Kiba. "It's their job to go after missing-nin and capture and/or kill them if necessary. What bothers me though is why he had to bring the body. I know they usually destroy them on sight."
"Kiba's right," said Kurenai. "Something is definitely… …ugh…" The red-eyed jonin suddenly collapsed.
"Kurenai-sensei!" yelled the Genin.
"We have to do something!" shouted Sakura.
"Nami isn't that far from here," said Tazuna. "We could take her to my house."
-End Flashback-
"And that's what happened," said Kurenai.
"Whoa," said Naruto, rather awestruck. "You guys took down a Jonin? That's so cool! I wish I could have been there to see that."
"Don't bother," replied Kakashi. "I have a feeling that we'll be seeing our friend Zabuza very soon."
"What do you mean?" asked Sakura. "He's dead. I saw him. The senbon struck his neck and killed him."
"I think that's what that hunter-nin wanted us to think," said Sasuke. "Think about it. Kiba said that hunter-nin usually destroy the corpses on sight. What if the hunter-nin we saw was in cahoots with Zabuza?"
"S-so we'll be facing an A-class missing-nin?" asked Hinata, feeling rather scared.
"What a pain…" grumbled Shikamaru. "Now I have to put more effort than I normally do."
"By effort, do you mean any at all?" Naruto joked. "Don't worry Hinata-chan. I'll protect you. We'll fight the bad guys and save this village together!"
"Don't bother," came a new voice.
"Say wha-?" asked Naruto.
A young boy, around eight or nine, wearing a yellow shirt, green overalls, and a blue-striped bucket hat came in to the room. "What's the point of fighting if you're going to die anyway? Gato's just going to kill you; just like how he's killed this village's spirit."
"Who's that kid and what's his deal?" asked Kiba.
Tazuna sighed. "That's my grandson Inari. He's been like that since his stepfather died."
"Oh…" said Hinata, bowing her head. "I'm sorry for your loss…"
"What do you care?" Inari shot back, storming out of the room.
"I'm sorry for his behavior," apologized Tsunami.
"It's alright," said Hinata, not really wanting to be a bother.
"Excuse me a moment," said Naruto as he got up and followed Inari's point of exit. As he padded upstairs, he could hear light sobs coming from one of the rooms. Following the sound, he found Inari crying on his bed while clutching the photograph of a man.
"Daddy… Why'd you have to go?"
As Naruto entered the room, he quietly knocked on the slightly-ajar door, alerting Inari of his presence.
"What do you want?" Inari asked rather heatedly, quickly wiping the tears from his eyes.
"In all truth, I was going to tell you off for snapping at my friend, but I heard you crying," answered the blond. Naruto's eye landed on the photograph cradled against Inari. "So this your dad?"
"That's none of your business!" snapped the younger boy. "And even if it was, it's not like you could ever understand anyway!"
"That's where you're wrong!" Naruto countered ferociously. "Kid, you'd better listen and listen good- You're lucky you even had a dad at one point. I have never ever met mine! He died on the day I was born. And even if they're gone, I don't think our dads would want to see their sons moping about in their little emo corner. You're the man of the house now. Drop the crybaby act and take life as your dad would have. I'm sure that'd be the best way to honor his memory."
A/N: I feel like that my endings are starting to suck, but anyway, it's prone to editing. Please do review and comment. I do enjoy the comments. Any holes or sudden changes of character in this fic will also be edited or answered.
Also, please help with the lists of genjutsu and stuff like that. If you know where I can find a bigger list of genjutsu or if you have any original genjutsu ideas you want to see in this fic, just send a comment and I'll try to make this fic as appealing as it can be. Have a nice day!
